This article was written before the release of the entry draw due to the late release of supplementary entries.
While regattas early this season have only featured entries from Waikato Rowing Club, the field will likely expand slightly for the Christmas Regatta. The Open Quad event typically features athletes as part of internal club seat races or time trials for performance squads in the late season. In the past, the event has been sparsely dotted, with only Waikato and North Shore racing the Senior Women’s Quad in 2024 (the event being replaced by the Open Quad). This preview will focus on potential entries into the Open Quad, with the expansion of the event potentially inviting more entries from elite, club, and senior-grade rowers.
Waikato Rowing Club
As the only club to contest the Women’s Open Quad this season, Waikato may have been using the event as an opportunity for internal seat trials to determine the best combinations. The two Waikato crews saw quite a disparity in speed at the Club Regatta, with the ‘A’ combination beating the ‘B’ combination by almost a minute in both the prelim and the final. It was a similar story on day one of the Memorial Regatta a few weeks ago, with the ‘A’ crew taking a 30-second margin over the ‘B’ crew. Some swaps from the Memorial Regatta to the Club Regatta saw Redcoat winner Amelia Barrell slot into the stroke seat, no doubt boosting the crew as she had previously won the Senior Quad at the New Zealand Rowing Championships in February. New Zealand U19 representative Angalla Carney rotated into the bow seat of the ‘A’ quad, after not racing the Quad at the Memorial Regatta. The ‘B’ crew entered at the Club Regatta was primarily made up of U19 and rowers who had been successful at the Club grade in 2024/25. With internal competition seemingly high this season, as it typically is at Waikato, one can only see the club improving from here on. Waikato is my favourite to win the event again, unless we see a surprise Elite entry.
North Shore Rowing Club
North Shore raced in the Senior Women’s Quad at the 2024 Christmas Regatta, an event that is being phased out this year in favour of the Open Women’s Quad. We have yet to see them race the Open Quad this season, with their latest appearance being in the Open Double, where they claimed fifth in the final. A high percentage of North Shore crews this season are coming out of school rowing; the double of Lockett and Mawston was the combination that won silver in the Girls’ U18 Pair at the 2025 Maadi Regatta, but there is a low chance they will enter this event this weekend. With no evidence for a potential entry into the Open Quad, it remains challenging to predict who could feature alongside Lockett and Mawston, but in the case that there is an entry, it will remain increasingly complex to topple Waikato’s domination at the top in Women’s Open sculling.
Prediction
The Open Quad is difficult to predict this year, given the limited data and the event’s infrequent contestation over the past few seasons. Waikato are my clear favourites with their deep squad numbers and ability; it remains hard to look beyond them. North Shore remains a question for now, but if their small boat ability is anything to go by, they could be competitive in this event should they choose to enter. Lastly, the Open event sometimes invites entries from New Zealand Elite crews, and Christmas Regatta remains a good time for the Summer Squad to join and test combinations ahead of 2026.
